The Central Buddha

This is the narrative of Great-Universally-Excelling-Wisdom Buddha. After telling this story, Sakyamuni discloses that these sixteen Bodhisattva-disciples have already attained enlightenment and are now Buddhas. …

By listing the names of the Buddhas, Sakyamuni reveals that in a previous existence, he himself had been one of those sixteen princes who had become Bodhisattva-disciples. What is more, he proclaimed that he was the central Buddha, since he was the sixteenth of those princes, and the one who was to conclude the story.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra